Meeting Estel
by Ebenbild
Summary: Estel is around two years old. He has just lost his father and is now new in Elrond's house. He is a nice child. So why is Elrond fleeing and shutting himself into his rooms? And what will happen when Estel meets Elladan and Elrohir?
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own The Lord of the Rings, but if anyone would give it to me I would gladly accept it._

_**Timeline:**__ The story takes place way before the Lord of the Rings. Aragorn has just lost his father and he and his mother are staying now in Imladris. They started staying there just a couple of days ago._

_I'm not a native speaker so sorry for my mistakes._

**Elrond**

Elrond couldn't believe it. A few days ago he had agreed to help Gilraen with taking care of her little son Aragorn. He had put him under his care and given him a new name. Now little Aragorn was known as Estel and no-one in Imladris, except of Elrond himself and the mother of the boy knew who he really was. This was to keep the boy save. The Shadow of the East was growing again and a few weeks ago it had taken the little boy's father's live. After that, Gilraen had come here to find protection and the boy's name was changed to Estel.

And now, not more than a few days later, Elrond was shutting himself in his chambers and praying, that the boy would be elsewhere when he returned.

"Why?", Elrond thought while he tried to bite back his feelings, "why?!"

The question remained unanswered because there was no-one who could give Elrond a proper answer to it.

At this moment, outside the door of Elrond's chambers a little voice could be heard. "Da-da", it said, "da-da?"

Elrond began to slowly walk circles in his room, praying that the little boy would go away before Elrond would loose himself.

"Da-da? Da-da", the little boy began to sob now. Elrond was feeling more and more cold.

"Da-da?"

When the boy spoke this time Elrond was sure that he was crying. The boy was crying for the father he had lost. The boy was crying for Elrond who was looking a little bit similar to the lost father.

The whole last days the little boy had been following Elrond around, calling him "da-da" everytime he wanted something. But Elrond wasn't his father. Elrond couldn't accept being called that way...

"Da-da?"

Before Elrond knew what he was doing, he opened his door and embraced the little boy in front of it.

"It's OK, my little one", he said, "I'm here so don't cry."

The boy's hands hugged Elrond tightly as if Elrond would slip away from him. Big, fad tears were streaming down the little boy's cheeks and vanishing in Elronds long, dark hair.

The old half-elf sighted. Why had he reacted to "da-da"? His own sons where far too old to call him that way and Elrond knew it wouldn't be good when he would start to think of the little men-boy as his own.

"Da-da", the boy said.

"It's _ada_", Elrond answered, while calling himself stupid to teach this word the little boy, "say _ada._"

"_A-da_", the boy pronounced, "_a-da, a-da, a-da!_"

Elrond sighted again. Why had he done that?! The little boy was not his _io-nin_! There should be only three beings in this world who were allowed to call him _ada _and that where his sons and his daughter!

"_A-da_", the boy happily said, "_a-da!_"

"_Io-nin"_, Elrond said softly, "it's all right now. I'm here. Your _ada _will always be here." The boy had captured his heart. Elrond knew it. One moment long he struggled against his feelings, then he gave in. The boy was too sweet. It had little Estel just taken two days to snug in Elrond's heart.

"I have to tell my own children not to come around for the next two decades", Elrond thought, "Estel would gain their hearts as easy as he gained mine. I don't want that my children have to suffer like me when he leaves us again to follow his path."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own The Lord of the Rings, but if anyone would give it to me I would gladly accept it._

_**Timeline:**__ The story takes place way before the Lord of the Rings. Aragorn has just lost his father and he and his mother are staying now in Imladris. They started staying there just a couple of days ago._

_I'm not a native speaker so sorry for my mistakes._

**The Twins**

"Did father not tell us to stay away the next years?", Elrohir asked his twin-brother while riding down the narrow pass that leaded to Imladris.

"He did", Elladan said, "but what harm could us do staying one night at home?"

"I don't know. But father told us…"

"It's OK. We are coming in just for tonight and we are leaving in the morrow."

This time Elrohir said nothing.

It took them another half an hour to reach the Last Homely House. When they entered, Elladan sighted. "It is good to be home again", he said.

"It is", Elrohir replied.

At this moment they saw a little men-boy of two or three years running down the stairs of their father's house. At the bottom the boy stopped for a moment, looking back to the top. Fast footsteps could be heard from above.

Then the boy ran to Elladan and Elrohir and hid behind their legs.

"What?", Elladan asked stunned.

"Shht", the boy said, "_a-da _looking for Estel."

This stunned the two half-elven sons even more. The boy had spoken Sindarin as if he himself was an elfling.

"_Ada?"_ Elladan asked, "who is your _ada_?"

The question was answered when they saw their father coming down the stairs.

"Elladan, Elrohir", Elrond looked startled to see his sons standing in the entrance of his house, "what are you two doing here."

"We had been looking for shelter for this night, _adar_", Elladan replied looking from the boy to his father. Elrond also looked to the boy.

"Estel" he said, "what are you doing here in the entrance? Haven't I told you not to go out here?!"

"I'm sorry, _a-da"_, the boy said not sounding very sorry. Elrond sighted. "He's nearly as terrible as you two were in his age."

Elladan and Elrohir laughed and then looked at the boy again.

"How come that he is calling you _ada, adar_", Elrohir asked.

"That's a long story, _ion-nin_", Elrond answered, sighting again.

As a reply Elladan went down on his knees so that he could look in the eyes of the little boy. Beautiful big, grey eyes were looking back. For a moment Elladan could feel his heart ache and suddenly he knew why his father let the boy call him _ada. _There would be now living person in this world who wouldn't do what these grey eyed boy wished for. The strength and beauty of the boy could easily match an elfling and the purity of the child's soul was something not a single person in the world could withstand.

"Hey, you're Estel", Elladan found himself saying, "aren't you?"

"I am" the boy replied in beautiful Sindarin.

"I'm Elladan", Elladan said, "I'm your big brother, you know?"

"Big brother?", the boy asked.

"Aye", Elrohir said, "we are. I'm Elrohir, your other big brother."

Elrond sighted.

"Because of that I told you not to come", he murmured. Elladan looked at his fathers eyes. "Why not?", he said, "even if Estel will grow and grow old and die. Don't you think it will be better to have a little brother for just a few years than never having one at all?"

Elrond sighted again.

"You two are just here for a little more than a little moment and he already has captured your heart."

Elladan and Elrohir shrugged.

"Of course he has, _adar."_, Elrohir replied smiling, "after all he is our little brother."

"But…"

"And now we have someone to teach all our pranks to", Elladan said happily, "this will be fun!"

Elrond sighted again. Estel was a nice child but he also could play pranks in a while. With his brothers here it would increase.

"How long are you staying?", he asked his grown up sons.

"We thought of staying for the night", Elladan replied.

"But now we will stay a little longer", Elrohir finished the sentence of his brother, "after all, we can't let our poor baby brother stay in a house full of old elves with no-one to play around!"

Elrond sighted again. But it was good. Estel needed someone to play with and when his brothers would stay here a little while Elrond wouldn't complain.

"I hope my daughter stays away", he thought, "it's enough to have three prank playing children in the house. I don't need the queen of mischief to join them."

And he definitely needn't that little Estel also stole the heart of his daughter…

Nearly eighteen years later little Estel also captured the last remaining heart of Elrond's family. Arwen, who stayed away like she was told, was caught by Estel the moment she returned to Imladris.


End file.
